MEDCOAST’s Hammamet Declaration
The Fifth International Conference on the Mediterranean Coastal
Environment, MEDCOAST 01, 23 – 27 October 2001, Hammamet – Tunisia, was organised
in collaboration with two Tunisian institution namely; the Agency for Coastal Protection
and Planning and National Institute of Marine Science and Technology. The conference was
honoured by the presence and address of the Minister of Environment and Territorial
Management in the Opening Session. One hundred and sixty seven participants of the
conference, representing twenty eight countries, in appreciation of the generous support
provided by the Tunisian Government to the organisation of the conference, and;
- Being aware of uniqueness of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea coastal environment,
the importance of the coastal areas as the melting pots of the cultures of the people in
the riparian states, and the significant role of these areas in the economical development
of the countries, and the wealth of the populations;
- Noting the long-lasting efforts of the Mediterranean countries under the framework of
the UNEP’s Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) for regional collaboration with the aim of
improving the environmental and ecological conditions of the Mediterranean and its coastal
areas, and the positive impact of the Rio Conference on the widening of the MAP’s vision
and perspective with the start of the second phase in 1995;
- Supporting the creation of the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development
(MCSD) as an advisory institution to observe and guide, where possible, the regional
collaboration that impact the sustainable development efforts in the Mediterranean
countries, but being concerned by the significant overlap of the MCSD with the traditional
MAP system;
- Witnessing with concern the delays in the establishment of an effective mechanism for
collaboration of the Black Sea countries since 1997 in solving the regional and national
coastal and marine issues despite of the favourable environment created and foundation
laid out by the Black Sea Environmental Program, and being worried for the insufficient
co-ordination of various individual projects initiated thereafter;
- Observing that the anthropogenic pressure for fast development of coastal and marine
resources, especially in the southern and eastern countries, often result in
un-recoverable, important losses, despite the increased efforts towards better coastal and
marine management in many countries of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea;
Unanimously agree to bring out the following observations and
recommendations to the attention of the national and international institutions dealing
with coastal and marine issues, as well as of the public:
Collaboration over the Mediterranean and the Black Sea basins should be extended beyond
the intergovernmental programs. Creation and functioning of decentralised networks aiming
co-operative efforts to improve coastal and marine management practices should be
encouraged by the international programs and donor institutions. In this context, the
Mediterranean programs of the European Union, which created a significant momentum in the
region for decentralised co-operation in the first half of the 1990’s, should be
revitalised, and similar programs for the Black Sea should be initiated. Instruments
should be designed to substantiate the interaction of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea
networks.
Inter-governmental co-operation over the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins must be
expanded beyond the level of the environmental ministries, as it is presently achieved by
the MAP system. Intergovernmental collaboration over the important regional issues, such
as tourism development and management, fisheries, marine transportation of dangerous
products and of refugees, must be effectively institutionalised. Independent Mediterranean
and Black Sea intergovernmental institutions should be created for the collaborative
management of these regional issues. At the same time, all Mediterranean countries are
invited to ratify all protocols that have been already enacted within the MAP system.
Tourism, being the most important economical use of the coastal and marine areas in the
Mediterranean and having a good potential for development in the Black Sea, and thus
providing great development pressures on pristine and ecologically sensitive sites in
particular, and on the environment and resources in general, needs to be managed more
effectively at the regional scale. Creation of the Mediterranean Tourism Organisation
as an intergovernmental institution would facilitate information and experience sharing
among the riparian countries on one hand, and development of regional policies, guidelines
and agreements for minimising the tourism related impacts on the other. One such policy
could be implementing schemes for “tourist contribution” at the regional scale
and using the money collected for improvement of the coastal environment and for
restoration of the pressured ecosystems.
The pristine coastal and marine sites, that possess important ecological, cultural and
aesthetic values should be protected against development, and should be left aside for the
benefit of the future Mediterranean and Black Sea communities. The northern countries, by
using the available and new international mechanisms, should provide resources to the
southern countries for management and protection of such sites, in addition to
compensation for the opportunity cost of conservation.
Development of tools and techniques for coastal and marine management and generation of
the essential data and information should be promoted. Collaboration of basin wide
scientific institutions through the existing or to be created networks should be
encouraged. Especially, collaboration of the northern and southern scientific institutions
in well designed regional research and monitoring programs should be supported. The scope
of the Short and Medium Action Plan (SMAP) of the European Union should be widened to
cover such scientific and monitoring projects of regional networks for providing funding
on a competitive basis. Preparation of the Mediterranean Coastal Atlas is an
important example for such collaborative regional projects
The synergy among the programs of the intergovernmental institutions, such as the
UNEP’s MAP and UNESCO’s IOC, and the regional efforts of decentralised scientific and
professional networks should be improved. The international programs should benefit to the
maximum capacity from the capabilities and efforts that exist at the regional scale. Such
collaborative efforts and task sharing will produce not only higher quality products, but
will be significantly cost effective as well. The capabilities of MEDCOAST, being the most
developed regional network for research, human capacity development and information
sharing in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and of other similar organisations, should
be fully utilised by the intergovernmental programs. The scientific meetings and training
courses, which have been organised by MEDCOAST over a decade, provide significant
opportunities for enhancing the inter-governmental programs dealing with coastal and
marine management. Such events should be effectively utilised and financially supported by
the inter-governmental institutions.